The Phantom of the Open, the third feature film from Craig Roberts, is a whimsical, heart-warming take on a true story. In the late ‘70s, a life-long crane operator and working-class Englishman named Maurice Flitcroft, despite having never played a game of golf in his life, decided to take up the sport and sign up for the British Open. His golf game improved marginally over the years, but he famously played the worst game of golf in British Open history. His journey, in all its farce and determination, captured the nation and inspired many. This real-life story is ripe for interpretation, and Roberts fills the authenticity and rough surroundings of its characters with an expectant sense of magic and anticipation, not unlike the recent true-life comedy-drama The Duke.
Mark Rylance plays Flitcroft with a restrained comedic skill, the ever brilliant Sally Hawkins plays his wife, while Jack Davies depicts the exasperated and practical-minded adult son horrified at his father’s growing fame. Phantom has a pleasant and easy flow and charm. Flitcroft is a kind man who’s given up his dreams to take care of his family. He is pure-hearted, sometimes obtuse and often determined and optimistic. He tells his children they can do anything they can imagine, which for his younger twin sons means encouraging their dreams of being international disco dance champions, while his older son shuns his family’s whimsy and aims to advance his life through a practical career. Flitcroft has all but given up on himself when a potential layoff leads to a revelation, played out in a fantastical dream sequence. He must play golf. His determined journey to pursue this dream is ridiculous yet moving, especially as he faces class prejudices and judgement. Flitcroft and his wife seem to be perfectly attuned. She understands and values his good as the heart and dreams, a partner in crime as he decides to enroll in the British open, again and again.
Rylance’s Flitcroft is a man of subtle mannerisms, pausing and processing, smiling and straightforward, unintentionally funny in his obliviousness. One is reminded of the brilliant moments of blankness Rylance brought to his role as a billionaire and calculated villain in Don’t Look Up. Hawkins plays his wife with dignity and a compatible optimism, if marked by slight exasperation. The actors both bring a vague sorrow to their characters that makes these characters compelling and believable. Davies brings to his role as the bewildered, responsible son a balance of insecurity, resentment and confusion.
Director Roberts was himself an actor in such films as Submarine, and his stylistic choices behind the camera recall that coming-of-age movie, as well as the quirkiness of Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl. Flashbacks are sometimes cast in stark lighting as if on a stage and a dream sequence has many fantastical elements, with Flitcroft flying through the air and a visual theme of cut-out stars appearing in the sky. Sometimes the camera zooms and twists in Flitcroft with a stylized flare. What could have been too-cute works in this absurd turn of events.
The Phantom of the Open is genuinely funny, using visual gags and the characters’ obliviousness to laugh with, not at, them. The pacing may slightly drag at times, with a slight over-sweetness to some moments, but overall the film’s tone works given the strangeness of its true source. Sometimes one hopes for the difficulties of the Flitcroft family’s life to balance out the silliness, but a nicely balanced conflict with the older son and financial losses bring necessary tension and the conflict. One may feel inspired to pursue their own ridiculous dream after watching Flitcroft pursue his.
Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
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